Three French Moralists and The Gallantry of France

Gosse, Edmund, 1849-1928Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.6

Word count: 261K words
Chapters: 27

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Three French Moralists and The Gallantry of France by Edmund GosseAuthor: Gosse, Edmund, 1849-1928,Language: English, Class: D501: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: World War I (1914-1918), Release Date: Nov 19, 2006

Editor's review

Edmund Gosse was a British man of letters and critic; in this book he uses three French moralists as a thread for discussing martial valor and grace in the French spirit, extending the topic into the context of the First World War. It is not a systematic textbook of moral philosophy but an essayistic discussion in the manner of literary criticism: it surveys the thinkers' ideas while using French cultural tradition to talk about national character in wartime. Its value for readers lies in offering a view of France from the perspective of an early twentieth-century British intellectual, and it can serve as supplementary reading in French moral literature and the cultural history of the First World War. Its judgments bear the marks of their time and should be read critically, not taken as neutral conclusions in intellectual history. It suits readers interested in French literature, moral essays, and the cultural background of the First World War, and can be used alongside primary texts and historical scholarship in courses or research; those wanting popular storytelling or a complete philosophical system will not find it here.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in French moral literature and essays on ideas
Students and teachers studying the cultural context of the First World War and mutual British-French perceptions
Readers who enjoy literary criticism and accept essayistic argument
Readers interested in history and letters who want an early twentieth-century British critic's perspective

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic textbook of moral philosophy or a complete intellectual history
Readers who want only popular stories and light reading
Readers uninterested in historical context and unwilling to weigh period prejudices

Reading tips

Learn the basic lives and major works of the three moralists first; the commentary will then read more smoothly.
Place the book's judgments back in the context of the First World War and note period prejudices as you read.
Read selected passages from the French moralists themselves alongside the book to test its arguments.
Take notes by theme, distinguishing intellectual commentary from wartime propaganda.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Which three French moralists does the book discuss?

The available information gives only the title and author and does not name the three moralists, so they should not be guessed. Readers can identify them from the table of contents or opening of the Project Gutenberg text, then read their works, avoiding mistaken assumptions based on secondhand descriptions.

How is the book related to the First World War?

Project Gutenberg classifies the book under First World War history, indicating that its discussion is connected to the 1914–1918 wartime context, using French moral tradition to discuss French valor and grace. How the chapters develop this should be checked against the electronic text; readers should note the wartime mood and stance of the writing.

Can I read this without a background in philosophy?

Yes, but it requires patience. It is literary criticism rather than systematic philosophy, and its sentences and judgments depend on historical and literary background. Start with the introductory chapters and look up unfamiliar figures as you go; with no background in philosophy or French literature, progress will be difficult.

Are the book's views still reliable today?

The book reflects the perspective of an early twentieth-century British critic and wartime national argument, and some judgments need to be weighed critically today. It is better used as a period document that helps us understand how British and French intellectuals saw each other at the time, rather than cited as neutral, up-to-date scholarship.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Gosse, Edmund, 1849-1928 Author

Edmund Gosse (1849–1928) was an English writer and literary critic, with nine works held in this collection. His best-known book, Father and Son, is a memoir that examines the clash of temperament and belief between two generations; restrained yet tense in style, it is an important text for understanding family and religious life in the Victorian era. He also wrote Henrik Ibsen, introducing the Norwegian playwright to English readers, while Gossip in a Library, Three French Moralists and The Gallantry of France, Some Diversions of a Man of Letters and Aspects and Impressions display the wide range of his essays and criticism. The Future of English Poetry and the fantasy Hypolympia show his ventures into poetics and imaginative writing. His prose is clear and elegant, learned yet readable. As public information is limited, biographical details are omitted here.